I had watched a few weird moves on Netflix, a Hanible Lecter movie and a Wicked Attractions show both of which had cannibalism themes. Wendy did not see the Hanibile one but she may have seen the other. Because of the shows I had cannibalism in the back of my mind.

Wendy had gotten a small pork roast and fixed it the other night. While it was cooking we consumed a number of one of the new beers that we homed brewed. They were one of the special seasonal brews that was about 7% alcohol, so we were feeling good.

She served up the meal in a fancy manor. She had sliced an Apple up and let it back with the roast to help flavor it. She displayed the pork slices neatly on the plate and then put the cooked apple slices on top, and colorful vegetables on the side.

It was very nicely done. My subconscious became active and what I saw on the sliced pork was cooked sliced ears. The size and color was right. I moved the ears off and ate the rest of the meal. When I was ask if those tasted bad or something I told her they looked like cooked people ears.

She said they did look somewhat like ears. 😎 Then with a smile she said there were Lady Fingers for dessert.

We watched the movie World’s Fastest Indian the other night and one part in it had us laughing with tears in our eyes. The Man was towing his Indian motorcycle and the wheel on his trailer came off. He first noticed the trailer wobbling, and then the wheel came off. The trailer side dropped to the road and the wheel that came off and passed the car and went rolling down the road by itself.  Why it was funny to us was that the same thing had happened to us when we were pulling my boat.

It was not funny when it happened to us but it was funny when we saw it in the movie. I can still remember seeing that tire pass the truck and role away in front of me going up a hill. The dang tire rolled about ¾ of a mile before it stopped and fell over. Going to get the tire and rolling it back was just the start of the problems we had on that trip, but looking back on it now it was funny.

The wheel came off on the first day of our vacation, and it took about 3 days to fix the trailer with the help of friends. Even with that we had a great vacation. The thing I remember most though was that tire passing the truck and rolling up the hill and thinking that the tire had been well balance to role like that. 😎

Sail Fishing To Us Is Fishing From The Sailboat, Not Fishing For Sailfish

I can say I am NOT A GREAT FISHERMAN. We live on the river, we have fishing stuff, and so we do a little fishing. When we go sailing on the river I usually put a line out and troll fish. I do not expect to catch anything but the sailboat speed is great for trolling. A 3 to 6 mph is what we average on the river and because we tack often when sailing we do sweep the river back and forth and cover a lot of area with the lines.

I am more than surprised when we get something. It also is surprising what you can snag out of the river as far as junk goes.

If you do get a fish, getting it on board and unhooked while sailing is also fun. What needs to be done is to heave to and then deal with the fish but that takes the fun out of it. *-) The dog gets excited when we get excited and also adds to the havoc on board. He likes it when the fish flops around.

I have done some sailfish fishing and we did well. I think fishing from a sailboat for marlin would give the marlin a much better chance of getting away.

I have caught Marlin and Sailfish but not from my sailboat.

 

I have not gotten a real good fishing setup to troll from the boat. I think I will try an umbrella rig next. It would be like having a small school of fish following the boat that may attract fish. I have never caught anything off the umbrella rig I have. With that many hooks and a fish on the line also it may be a challenge to get the fish off one hook without getting hooked myself.

Really good how to tie knots video for boaters. A few good knts to know about.
http://www.offcenterharbor.com/videos/six-basic-boat-knots/

Cat And The Shroud.

I replaced the standing rigging on my sailboat this last week and I asked to have the old ones returned. I have no idea what I need the old ones for, but I Have them.  😎

The shrouds are steel cables and mine are about 20 feet long. I had them rolled up to a diner plate size loop and had put a masking tape wrap around the loop to keep it from unwinding. One of them was on the floor and our newest cat was checking it out. He liked it. He was batting at the tape and scooting the shroud around the floor. George batted at the tape and the shroud unwound just a little.

Its alive, its alive was what George must have thought. He jumped back and stalked it carefully. He swatted at the tale on the shroud and it did not move. He became brave and pounced on it. The tape gave way, the shroud uncoiled, the cat went up in the air about 4’, a cat scream filled the air and then George was gone in a black and white blur through the room.

I looked for the cat but could not find him. There was no blood so I did not think the cat was hurt. I re coiled the shroud and put it back in the box it had been returned to me in and put the box outside. George came out after about an hour and was not worse for wear.

I think I will get that shroud out for him to play with again…NOT!

Oh I Hate Plumbing

I can see why plumbers charge so much. They must have a high rate of stress ulcers and suicide. I do not like to have to call a plumber because they cost so much and most plumbing jobs SHOULD NOT BE THAT HARD TO DO.

When I have to do a plumbing job I figure I will be going to the hardware store at least 3 times, even if I check and double check on what I think I will need.

First, the plumbing I have to do is always in a place you cannot get at easily. Under sinks, behind and under the back of a toilet that is next to a wall that is so close that a cat would not go in and so on. They are places that are dark and often smelly and almost always wet. When I was younger and thinner, it was bad. Now that I have filled out [ 😎  ] it is almost imposable.

Second, the parts that have to be removed are almost always corroded and you cannot get them off. I have broken good stuff trying to get the bad stuff off thus making the job bigger. I hate old shut off valves! The often have not been turned off or one for years and will not turn. You break them trying to turn them, or if the valve dose shut off, when you open them back up they drip.

Third, there are so many different types of valves, pipe fittings and ways of connecting things and different sizes of things that it is hard to find the right piece you need that is the right size. Then there is how they are put together…glue, solder sweating, thread fitting, press together fittings, and compression and flair fittings. You often get more than one type on the same job. When you mix and match like that. You almost always get a drip at a junction that cannot be tightened without taking other stuff out.

I have found that you almost always get a drip leak where the new stuff meets the old stuff. Those joints drive me crazy.

My Dad put in an outside shower stall at his lake cottage so we kids did not track sand and mess into the house when we came up from the lake. He neatly ran the hot and cold water lines to the shower using copper pipe and flair fittings. The water line root had multiple 90 degree turns (Mom wanted the pipes to look neat in straight lines on the wall.) as it went to the shower stall. There were 16 connections and when Dad turned on the water 14 of them leaked. I thought it was funny, Dad was mad, and I knew I needed to leave the area before he killed me for laughing. He spent 4 days getting all the joints not to leak. We never had any problems with those joints, but Dad said if there was one he would call a plumber.

Doing plumbing on a boat is as bad as or worse than in a house. Our old boat has at least 3 different types of pipes and lines and now you cannot get some types. You end up having to replace and run new lines. And on a boat you always wonder is water coming from the outside or from the plumbing. 😎

I have a list of plumbing I need to do…I just dread having to get started on them because it all ways is a much bigger job that it would seem.

New Bed Sheets

I went through our linen closest the other day to clean it out and I found a box load of old sheets that were still serviceable but old. Some had stains on them but the worst ones had bumps or pills on them. The wife has a problem with these (princes and the pea syndrome) and we do not use them. They look OK, just they have little bumps on them.

She said the real old sheets did not have that problem but you could not get sheets like that anymore unless you spent $80 or more for them. She also said she could find only solid colors. Print pattern sheets were few these days. Of course I just figured she was not looking at the right stores…we both hate shopping for that type of stuff.

I was by the Bed and Bath and some??thing store the other day so I stopped in. I got price tag shock. I found a “On Sale” section and found a table with “NEW MICROFIBER SHEETS”.  A little sign said: They are smooth like silk! And they were cheap compared to most of the sheets. I felt them and they were very smooth. 😎 Wife would LOVE the feel of these! 😎 I bought a package.

I have used other microfiber products and have been impressed with them. The dust clothes and cleaning clothes are great. I put the new sheets on the bed to surprise Wendy, and she did like them. *-)

Because we have 9 cats and a dog, I try to make the bed first to keep them out of it. We have an old bed spread that the animals have trashed that we use on the bed just for them. One morning I did not make the bed and when I went to do it I found 5 cats and the dog on the sheets. 8-(

Microfibers attract dust, animal hair and dirt. It was horrible…there was cat hair everywhere on the sheets. Well I figures it was time to wash them anyway, so off they came and into the wash. I washed them with some of the other laundry that was comparable with sheets. No big deal right! When they were done I put them in the dryer. When I got them out of the dryer I found there was more cat hair on them then when I put them in to wash. The sheets collected most of the cat hair from the rest of the load. The rest of the load looked great. The sheets were fury. I tried running them by themselves in the dryer to shake the hair off. No luck. The only way to get the hair off was to use a tape roller.

Now she can pick from hairy sheets or pilled sheets. At least she has a choice! *-)

 

 

 

 

Gritfoot the Cat

Our newest cat is named George. He got his name from George Jones because when he was found in a truck tire well they thought he was an Oposum. It was about when George Jones died and we thought the name fit. Then a few weeks after that, the British Monarchy named the new prince after our cat. Since then he wants to be called Prince George of Alva.    😎

Our little prince is a long haired Norwegian Forest Cat (we think). He is one big hairy fur ball. I truly think he has more fur than 3 of our other cats put together. You can tell where he naps form the hair he leaves behind, but the worst part of all that hair is when he uses the litter box his fury feet, belly and tail collect litter grit and he leaves a trail of grit when he leaves. Because of that I think we should change his name to Gritfoot.

Grit just sticks to me because of my fur.

He is good at cleaning the grit from his fur. Now he leaves both cat hair and cat box grit everywhere he goes. I can vacuum up the hair and grit every day, and I do not really keep up with it. I have also found he likes to play in the litter box. Maybe Gritfoot will outgrow that.

Cat Hopping

I was playing on the web with my laptop when one our cats named Monty came running or what I should say hopping through the room. He would hoop a few steps and then shake one of his paws, lick at it and then hop a few more steps and again shake his paw.

I knew he must have something stuck on or in his foot. I tried to catch him but he ran as if I was a predator. I had a heck of a time catching the little beast, and then he wanted to bit me when I tried to look at his foot. Cat burrito time…wrap him in a towel with just head and foot out. He still wanted to bit me but at least I could keep away from his little pointed choppers.

I found a piece of rolled up masking tape well stuck between his toes to little foot cat hairs. You would have thought I was killing the cat and pulling his legs off from the sound he made. Sort of like a baby crying and cat yowling. I got the tape out from between his toes and released him. He shot out of the towel and got about 20 feet from me before he stopped. He gave me a: I going to get you back for that look! He licked his paw, found he could walk OK and went to the Catio to sun himself.

I went to the bathroom to put stuff on my cat scratches. Monty stayed away from me the rest of the day, even when I offered cat nip.

I-Cat

He checked out the old lunch box that I use as a first aid box.  Arg!!

Sumo-Numo

Our cat Newman is a BIG CAT. I am guessing he weighs in at about 30 lbs. and he is long haired and fluffy, so that makes him even bigger looking. He is a yellow Main Coon we think and he thinks he should be the only cat. He has three hang out spots. One is on a round rug by our bed, one is on the bed and the third is on a rug in front of one of the bathroom toilets.

This is MY RUG!

He is big enough the other cats leave him alone for the most part, but the two youngest cats strike and run. Newman is too fat to chase so he just meows indignantly. If he is on the bed me meows indignantly if you do not stop and pet and stroke him. When he has had enough stroking he gives you the LOOK and if you do not stop he bites you.

When he is on the toilet rug you have to gently get him to move so you can use the toilet, and as long as you sit there he demands you pet him. If you stop petting him he bites you. The bed reaction and the toilet reaction are almost different. He has to be in control. When you are on the toilet with your pants down he has an advantage!

At feeding time Newman is like a Sumo wrestler.  He walks in and just bumps the cats out of the way to get to a food dish. The only time I see Newman run, or should I say trot is when it is food time.

We had to get an extra-large litter box for Sumo-Numo. He is so big that when he tries to use a standard litter box his Numo-Butt hangs over the end of the box and he deposits everything outside the box. Sumo-Numo cannot help it. It is tough being a cat named Newman.

I can be here if I want…I am Newman!